The flag of Equatorial Guinea is a horizontal tricolor of green over white over red, with
a blue triangle at the hoist. The coat of arms are to be found in the
centre of the white stripe. The arms are gray with silk cotton tree. Above are six yellow six pointed stars representing
the mainland and islands which make up the country.
Under shield is a motto: UNIDAD - PAZ - JUSTICIA (Unity, Peace, Justice). The flag was adopted
at independence on 12 October 1968. During the dictatorship of Francisco Nguema (1972-79) the emblem
on flag was changed, but the original 1968 coat of arms was restored after
Nguema was deposed in August 1979.

The symbolism of the colours is as follows:

Green symbolises the natural resources and the flora and
fauna of the country;

Blue symbolises the sea, which connects the mainland with
the islands, which together form the country;

White symbolises peace; and

Red symbolises the struggle for independence.

Željko Heimer 14 Dec 1995

The construction details of the flag are given in Album des pavillons nationaux et
des marques distinctives (National flags and distinctive markings) 2000
edition
[pay00] as (2+2+2):9~ but I think this
merely notes that the three stripes are of the same width and that:

shade of blue triangle approximates to Pantone 312c
which is rather light. [vdv00] and [smi82]
indicate a darker shade (navy blue);

The size ("height") of the triangle is given as being equal to a stripe height (1/3 of hoist). [vdv00]
is quite similar while [smi82] and some other sources make the triangle much bigger
(isosceles?); and

Position of the coat of arms is shown as being in the middle of flag and
sometimes in the middle from
the triangle to the fly edge.

2:3~
Image by Željko Heimer, 23 Oct 2001

Album [pay00] gives the flag without the coat of arms as
being the "Unofficial Variant" for a civil flag and ensign.Željko Heimer, 23 Oct 2001

The protocol manual for the London 2012 Olympics
(Flags and Anthems Manual, London, 2012 [loc12])
provides recommendations for national flag designs. Each National Olympic
Committee was sent an image of their flag, including the PMS shades, by the
London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) for their approval.
Once this was obtained, the LOCOG produced a 60 x 90 cm version of the flag for
further approval. So, while these specifications may not be the official,
government, version of each flag, they are certainly what the National Olympic
Committee believed their flag to be.

I recently got a book in Chinese called
'Geguo Gaikuang' (or World Factbook) published in 1972 and found the
Equatorial Guinean flag in that book different from that illustrated or
described in any other source as illustrated above.

The flag is similar to the official version, but with the blue part being a
right angle triangle and the coat of arms touches parts of the green and red
stripes and is not just confined to the white strip.

I've no idea if or when this flag was in use, but considering the year of
publishing of that book, I'm presuming it was between 1969 and 1973. Can
anyone shed some George Lei Ren, 20 Feb 2015

As far as I can discover there are no
official specifications for Equatorial Guinea, and the many flag book
illustrations I have seen mostly differ as to the length of the triangle and the
position of the arms. My own specification was based
upon an unsatisfactory official illustration and it places the triangle at
one-third the flag’s length and centres the arms between the point of the
triangle and the fly. However, the main image on this page (based upon
Album des Pavillons) shows the arms centred on the flag and the triangle at
one-third the width. It would appear that until official specifications
are published, such variations will continue to be produced.Christopher Southworth, 20 Feb 2015

The early history of the flag of
Equatorial Guinea is vague. It was only on 08 October 1968, four days away from
independence on 12 October 1968, that its parliament agreed on the design of the
national flag. Newspaper clippings from those days mention the description
of the flag without the coat of arms. It looks like there was not much time to
mass produce the flag design adopted by parliament and so many variants
appeared. A photograph published in the Het Vrije Volk newspaper in
Rotterdam shows people holding and waving paper flags with three plain
horizontal stripes. There is no triangle or arms on the flag. Jos Poels, 21 Feb 2015

The flags which were used officially
during the Independence celebrations of Equatorial Guinea in Santa Isabel (now
Malabo), do not have a coat of arms as seen
here in a photo taken on the Plaza de España.

In the October-November 1968 issue of the magazine La Guinea Ecuatorial
is a photo of
the government building in Santa Isabel on independence day (12 October 1968).
It clearly shows a flag flying without the coat of arms. Jos Poels, 23 Feb 2015

Coat of Arms

Image by Željko Heimer, 23 Oct 2001

The coat of arms of Equatorial Guinea were adopted on 21 August 1979 and
feature a silk cotton tree (the so called "God Tree") on a gray background.
The tree is where the first treaty was signed between Spain and a local ruler
signifying the beginning of the colonial period. Above the shield are six
yellow six-pointed stars representing mainland and the five main islands which
together comprises the country. Under shield is the national motto: UNIDAD - PAZ - JUSTICIA
(Unity, Peace, Justice). The Arms were originally at independence but were
changed during the dictatorship of Francisco Nguema (1972-79) and were restored
in 1979.

The coat of arms are found in the centre of the white stripe of the national
flag.

The coat of arms in the above image is adapted from Corel Clipart collection.
Željko Heimer, 14 Dec1995

According to the
website of the Government of Equatorial Guinea, the arms are based on the
arms granted by the King of Spain to the town of Bata, now the largest town in
the country The shield portrays a "capoquero" (kapok) tree
surmounted by six stars representing the six components of the country, Fernando
Poo, Río Muni (the continental component of the country), Elobey Grande, Elobey
Chico, Corisco and Annobón. The kapok was nicknamed the "Tree of the Gods"
in the 19th century as the Bonkoro swore loyalty to the King of Spain under such
a tree.

Kapok (Ceiba pentandra (L.) Gaertn.) Family Malvaceae, is a tree native
from Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, and West
Africa as well. The tree is widely cultivated in southeast Asia (where it
is known as Java kapok) for fibre. Venerated as a sacred tree by the
Mayas, Kapok is the national tree of Guatemala and
Puerto Rico.Ivan Sache, 10 Oct 2010

However, in 1986 the Presidency of the Equatorial Guinea requested the design
for a presidential standard. Tomas Rodriguez and Antonio Manzano make three proposals that were presented to
the then President, Teorodo Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.

The proposals all featured the silk cotton tree (Ceiba
in Spanish) from the national Arms with three yellow "colonel" stars to signify
the rank of President Obiang in the army (in the Spanish army I suppose, since he obtained his title in Spain). The six stars are not explained, but they
could correspond to the country's districts or the pieces of territory which
together make up the country.
Source: Moharra number 2, September 1986.Jaume Ollé, 01 July 1997

Provincial flags

A list of Equatorial
Guinea's seven provinces is given on the Spanish language
Wikipedia,
with a link to each province which shows an illustration of each provincial
flag.

I believe these must
be fictional flags. This version of Wikipedia is one of the worse to depict the
glorification of the former Spanish Empire. Despite Equatorial Guinea
having one of the highest costs of living, I doubt that each province has its
own flag.

Several of the
illustrated provincial flags seem to be inspired by those of Espiritu Santo (Brasil),
South Africa (before 1994) and Shanland.

Any photographic
confirmation of these flags will be welcome.Jaume Ollé, 11 Oct 2013